


What's Left

by SummerBerrySpaceman



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: AU where Morty doesn't successfully fight off Mr. Jellybean, Angst, Gen, Gratuitous Burping/Stuttering, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Suicide Attempt, Suicide Notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-09-11 01:11:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8947297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerBerrySpaceman/pseuds/SummerBerrySpaceman
Summary: An AU where Mr. Jellybean wins and has his way with Morty.This is my first time writing Rick and Morty, so it may be a little ooc - apologies ahead of time!





	1. Time Stolen

Only one word went through Morty’s mind as he sat alone in the in the filthy bathroom stall, utterly exhausted. One word kept repeating itself:

Disgusting.

He covered his mouth with his hand to silence his sobs. Once the monster had had his way with Morty, he simply left with a stupid grin on his face. The memory sent shudders through the boy as he pulled his knees closer to his chest.

Morty was a wreck. His eyes, bloodshot and red from tears. His body had bruises and abrasions littered from the hand print bruises encircling his neck to the dark blue blooming on his knees. His hair was pulled every which-way, his shirt torn. He couldn’t face Rick looking like… like this! He wanted nothing more than to go home, but—

He jumped when the door to the restroom slammed open. He heard his grandpa’s rough, familiar voice echo throughout the room.

“MoOOOrty, come on! Either you’re taking the world’s largest shit or you’re just-just pouting in here like a baby! And we both know which one it is!” Rick barked. “I-I-I’m actually having a great time, Morty! Th-These people… things… are great! I’ve won so many schmeckles, Morty!”

Morty couldn’t hold back the bile that rose in his throat. He turned, vomiting into the toilet. Nothing about this place was great. He wanted to leave, wanted to leave, wanted to—

“Morty? Are you…. in there puking? Did you drink or something?” Rick asked with an unconcerned chuckle. The thought of his grandson even going near alcohol was ridiculous to the scientist. He took his flask out of his coat to down some of the contents, nearly spitting it out as Morty came out of the stall.

“J…Jesus, Morty, what the hell happened?!” he asked, quickly going to check over Morty. He pulled away when Morty flinched away from his touch, making a noise of distress. Rick had seen his grandson look like shit, but he had never seen him act like this.

Morty averted his gaze, “L-L-Look, can… can we just go home, Rick? I… I-I don’t want to talk about this…” he said, his voice wavering dangerously close to tears. Rick would probably make fun of him. Probably tell him it was his fault, or that he was asking for it…

Rick could feel anger start welling up inside of him – he wasn’t sure towards who though. Whoever touched Morty was going to pay. “L-Listen Morty, I’ll only take you home if you tell me what happened once we’re there.” he said seriously, pulling the portal gun from his coat, the won schmeckles and new friends long forgotten at this point. Morty simply nodded, too tired to argue. He felt immediate relief when he stepped into the familiar, stuffy garage. It smelled like chemicals and alcohol - something that once annoyed him, but now comforted him.

Rick wasted no time in sitting Morty down, careful to not touch him more than necessary. He noted the small flinches, like Rick’s skin was made of acid. Rick felt his gaze lock on the hand-shaped bruises on the boy’s neck, then the similarly-shaped marks on Morty’s arms. The anger was replaced with worry as he pulled a chair in front of him, sitting inches from the boy in case he tried to run.

“What happened, Morty.” he said flatly. It wasn’t a question - a demand. Morty knew this, but he didn’t want to tell him. He felt a huge veil of shame settle on him - did he really want to tell his grandpa that he was too weak to fight that… monster off? That he just cried and took it? He’ d never hear the end of it with Rick!

“I... I-It was just a fight, Rick. He jumped me, t-t-tried to take my wallet. He got violent because I wouldn’t give it up...” he said, not looking at Rick. The lie was simple, even for Morty. He knew Rick wouldn’t believe it for two seconds.

Rick wasn’t buying it. He knew his grandson’s tics, knew he didn’t look at Rick when he lied. His hands were twisting around each other, scratching his skin hard. His hands and arms were littered with dark spots from the previous times he’d scratched and scratched until the skin was gone. There were even spots in his face from when he did it. Beth had freaked out when she saw the behavior at first, but the doctor had explained it was just a nervous tic.

Rick huffed in agitation, smacking his hands to get him to stop clawing at himself. “Morty, yoOOu’re the shittiest liar I’ve ever met.” he said bluntly. Morty stiffened, feeling his guard starting to drop, the tears he’d been holding back started to fall. He dropped his face in his hands, clawing at the skin of his cheeks.

“I-It happened too fast, Rick! H-He was on me... A-And I wasn't strong enough... An-And I... I…” Morty’s words trailed off as he felt his chest constrict, his breathing quickly spiraling into quick, panicked breaths. He knew now more than ever Rick would make fun of him for being a pathetic, anxious wreck.

Instead of harsh words, he felt himself encircled in warmth, his grandpa’s voice dropping, reminding him to breathe, telling him it was alright. Morty knew he should feel weird - his grandpa didn’t show affection, after all - but he was too grateful. He leaned into the hug, sobbing into the lab coat littered with various stains.Rick stayed still, murmuring comforting words to Morty. His voice was gentle, but his mind was racing in anger. He already had at least 100 ways to end the life of whoever did this to Morty. He didn’t want to hear anymore, connecting the dots easily with what Morty had said.

Through all the adventures they had, the hardships they’d endured, this was the last thing Rick ever thought would happen to Morty.


	2. Hearts Taken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suicide attempt in this chapter - stay safe <3

Rick kept a close eye on his grandson throughout the week. He didn't know how to help him - he was never a very 'helpful'. Morty was scarily calm throughout the week, but Rick didn't miss the circles growing darker underneath his eyes, or the way he ate less and less each morning. He knew Morty better than Beth or Jerry ever would. He passed off the lack of appetite to stress from school. 

Rick couldn't stand it anymore. He'd tried to talk to the kid about it, but he would dodge the subject, claiming he had homework, or needed to shower. He hadn't invited Morty out to any adventures yet, and maybe that's what the kid needed. To get the bad memories of adventures out. 

He waited until it was late, going up to Morty's bedroom. He put his ear to the door to make sure he wasn't going to be walking in in anything he didn't want to see. He figured it was safe, slowly opening the door. 

Morty was at the desk in his room, writing. Rick cleared his throat so his presence was known. "H-Hey, Morty. Let's go on an adventure? Morty, it'll be great, I found a whole new dimension, a-and there's a ton if hot alien chicks! M-Morty, it'll be great!" he said, grinning.

Morty didn't even turn, "No thanks, Rick. I... I have a lot of homework here." he murmured quietly. Rick almost flinched at how absolutely _sad_ the kid sounded. Rick was determined to talk to Morty, though, even just casually. 

"Anything old Grandpa Rick can help with?" he asked, walking over to the desk. Morty quickly shut the notebook he had been writing in, "N-No, it's just..." he trailed off, "grammar." he finished a moment later. Rick gave him a look "...why are you lying about homework, Morty?"

"I-I'm not!"

"You paused for like, five whole seconds, Morty!"

"Maybe because I'm tired! J-J-Jesus, Rick, get off my case!" he snapped, standing and shoving the notebook in his backpack, "J-Just go away, Rick! I don't want to deal with this right now!"

Rick was taken aback when his grandson started to usher him to the door with small pushes. He knew Morty wasn't keen on others being in his room, but he'd never been pushed out like an unruly drunk at a bar. 

"M-Morty, stop it. I'm-I'm perfectly capable of walking, Morty!" he snapped, glaring at him as pulled away from the boy. He left without much more than a mumble of words from Morty. 

He had to let himself cool off before going back. He knew his temper had a very short leash on it. He went back to the garage for a while, but his mind wouldn't stop racing. Why would someone lie about homework? What was so bad in that notebook? 

Rick knew how _wrong_ it was to invade on his grandson’s privacy - especially when he had tried to hide it like that - but he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it until he saw it. He knew it was probably something like a journal. He figured Morty was the kind of kid to keep his feelings written somewhere. He snuck back to the room, relieved to find the kid asleep. He took the opportunity to creep to the backpack, snooping until he found the black spiral notebook Morty had shoved inside haphazardly. He noted some empty pill bottles inside, thinking they were probably those pills the psych had given him for whatever the kid had. He made a mental note to get them refilled for him.

He slid out of the room and back to the garage. He settled into his seat, opening it up to the first page. Actual homework was on the first couple of pages, but when he got to the fourth page, he felt his blood run cold. 

_Whoever finds this, I'm sorry. None of you did anything wrong. Especially Rick. I just couldn't handle this anymore and I couldn't live with the fact that_

Rick didn't read anymore, already running back into the house to dial an ambulance. He spoke quickly before going into Beth and Jerry's room, shaking them both awake and explaining in quick words what was happening. 

The ambulance came and got the kid, and Beth and Jerry followed, both hysterical, not understanding what happened - he seemed so happy! He was doing much better! Rick couldn't bear to go yet. He felt his temper flaring at the two - _he wasn't doing any better, he was so much worse! Open your goddamn eyes, Beth!_

He sat on the couch, staring at the wall, and for the first time in a very long time, Rick Sanchez cried like a baby.


	3. Harshness Welcomed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a little short - but I'm slowly getting back into writing again. This trip has messed me up a little, haha, but nothing I can't handle! Thank you for your comments - they're truly what keeps me writing!

Rick had to take some time to himself – had to gather up his wits, get facts together. He went to the hospital the next day after most of the hysteria had died down. The first thing that Rick noticed when he was in Morty’s room was that the kid was pretending to be asleep. He knew that Morty did that when he didn’t want to talk – and it was obvious he was faking it from the way his chest rose and fell at a pace too fast to be resting. The second thing Rick noticed was the bandages that encircled the kid’s arms. He knew he had been hurting, but he wasn’t sure if he understood how much now.

He sighed, closing the door behind him. Beth and Jerry had understood that Rick wanted some alone time. He went to the bed, sitting in a chair beside him. He sighed, staring down at his hands, swallowing hard as he tried to think of something, _anything_ , to say to lighten the mood.

He sighed, growing aggravated at himself. “C’mon, Morty… I know you’re awake.” he murmured, his voice uncharacteristically low and steady. He hadn’t slept that night – how could he when his grandson was in the hospital for this?!

Morty’s eyes opened, but he didn’t look at Rick. He could feel the shame in his gut, his eyes already threatening tears with how Rick’s voice had sounded. Not angry, just… sad.

“Aren’t you supposed to laugh now? Make… Make some sort of sick joke, or something?” Morty asked bitterly, finally looking at Rick. Rick met Morty’s eyes momentarily before glancing away.

“I wouldn’t joke about this, you sack of balls.” he muttered, shaking his head. Did his grandson really think he was that heartless? He looked down to his hands, sighing. “Morty, did you really think this would really help everything? I-I mean, look, I… I know the feeling of hopelessness, of wanting to just – just end it all, but…” he trailed off, unpleasant memories of his own flooding back.

Morty shook his head, “Save the speeches, Rick… Dad already told me enough…” he leaned his head back, “I don’t… want to talk about this anymore. I want to, you know… think about something else? Anything…” he said the last word as a quiet whisper – and Rick wanted to cry again at the tone.

“I… Sure…” he said, starting into a ramble about some distant planet that he made up. He just wanted to make Morty smile again.

In his mind, he was wishing more than ever that he could figure out how time works. If he could, he’d go back and prevent this from ever happening. He couldn’t help but feel a pull of guilt in his gut – especially seeing the bandages. How _long_ had he been doing that? How did Rick not notice? He knew the kid wanted to talk about other things, but it wasn’t something Morty could just sweep under the rug.

“Morty… Look, I… I know you don’t want to talk about it,” he started, shifting in his seat uncomfortably, “but Morty, we – we gotta talk about this, you know? I-It’s not like you stole a bottle of nail polish from the mall, Morty.” he said pointedly.

Morty, of course, knew he was right, but he didn’t _want_ to. It was hard enough that he woke up to his mother yelling and Summer sobbing. Hell, it was hard enough that he woke up. Instead of combating Rick, he just nodded.

“Alright…” he whispered, “we… we can talk about it, Rick.”

And Rick had never felt more relieved in his life.


	4. Bonds Strengthened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so so sorry for my long absence. I fell back into some old habits really hard, but I'm doing a LOT better - this fic helps me a lot. I really hope that at least one person still cares for this fic c': thank you for all the comments and kudos! I love all of them <3  
> p.s. I know this is a short chapter, but I'm really trying

The relief that Rick had felt wasn’t long-lived. As he listened to Morty explain everything that made him feel alone, Rick could only feel stabs of guilt. A lot of the reasons were his fault, and he didn’t like that at all. All he could think of was how avoidable this all was. If he had just _talked_ to Morty instead of letting the kid try and work through it –

“G-Grandpa Rick, are you even listening to me?” Morty asked tiredly, staring at Rick. He had stopped talking when he noticed his grandpa staring into space. Rick snapped to attention, nodding. “Yeah… I am, Morty. Don’t worry.” he reassured him. He was listening now more than ever, trying to form a plan in his mind to change his own actions to help Morty. The kid didn’t deserve to feel like shit – he was Rick’s right hand man! He was a little slow, and nervous, and a little annoying. That didn’t mean that he was incapable to caring for the kid. He loved his grandson!

After a moment of silence, Rick motioned to the bandages. “When did that start?” he asked. Now that the kid was wearing a hospital gown, he could see the white and pink scarring on his shoulder that hadn’t been wrapped. They were old and faded, varying degrees of depth. Rick knew it had to be at _least_ some months.

Morty shifted a bit and looked down. “U-Um… it’s been a few years. Maybe three years?” He tried. “It just… I don’t know, helped? I don’t know why…” he murmured. He started to ramble on about it, but Rick was too shocked to listen. Three _years_?! Rick didn’t even think the kid was possible of something like this. Had there been any adventures that he just hadn’t paid enough attention? Had he ever seen the kid’s shoulders?

Rick’s attention faded back in when he heard the distinct sound of Morty’s sniffling before he’d start to cry. “I-I don’t know, I know I’m stupid and-and that I’ll never ever find a girlfriend, and that you hate my anxiety and how d-dumb I am…” he said, wiping the tears on his cheek angrily. “I know all of this, and I just… Rick, I didn’t want to deal with it and-and I thought that if I took it out on myself, it would work… Rick, it made me feel _better_ and that’s all I wanted!”

Rick almost wanted to cry with the kid, but he knew that wouldn’t solve anything. He simply sighed, standing and scooting Morty over to slide into the bed next to him, patting his shoulder. Morty hesitantly set his head on his shoulder, sniffling as he tried not to let the tears fall.

Rick was quiet, trying to think of what to say carefully. He took a deep breath, “Morty, you know I don’t lie to you, and I won’t lie now. You’re a bit slow, and all anxiety-ridden, but Morty, look. Those aren’t entirely _bad_ things, you know? I-It makes you who you are – the most Mortiest Morty in all the universes. Look, would I be your old Grandpa Rick without m-my narcissism and my total genius?” he asked, looking at Morty.

Morty had to chuckle a little, shaking his head. “N-No… I guess you wouldn’t be the same Rick…” he said quietly, looking down. 

“And-And look, Morty, if you can’t ever find an Earth girlfriend, I know plenty of aliens that would _kill_ to date an Earthling!” Rick grinned, “you’re exotic on their planets, you know! A novelty! A rarity!”

Morty shook his head, gently punching Rick’s shoulder with a small, but genuine laugh. Something Rick hadn’t heard in a while. “Cut it out, Rick!” he said, smiling.

Rick returned the smile, and somewhere in his mind, he knew they’d be okay.


	5. Mending Slowly

When Morty was released from the hospital, Rick himself felt awful for the kid. Beth and Jerry wouldn’t leave him alone for two seconds. They took away anything that even had a dull point to it. Morty just watched, defeated as everything in his room was being searched through. Rick stayed near the door, silent. He didn’t want to intervene – it was one of the few times Beth and Jerry showed any care towards Morty’s “conditions”. When Jerry found the stash of razors that Morty had in a drawer, Rick had to avert his eyes. He felt sick to his stomach. He was one of the smartest people in the goddamn _universe _and yet he still hadn’t caught on?__

__The guilt felt so heavy on his shoulders. He hated it. He was an awful grandfather._ _

__When Beth and Jerry had finally left, Morty sighed heavily and laid back onto his bed, turning to face the wall, away from Rick. It felt strange and awkward, and Rick cleared his throat._ _

__“U-Uh, the doctor said uh… I-I’m taking care of your medicine, Morty.” he said. Morty rolled his eyes, “Of course. I’m too crazy to have it, right?” He muttered, playing with the edge of his blanket._ _

__Rick sighed, feeling a bit of agitation rise in him. “Well, Morty, look – i-it isn’t exactly like what you did didn’t happen! I understand you won’t do anything – at least, I hope you never do.” he rubbed his face. “We have to take precautions though, Morty! I-It’d be like taking a major shit without seeing if there was toilet paper first!” he explained.__

__Morty sighed, “I know… I’m sorry, Rick.” he said, his hands finding their way to the pick marks on his face. “I-I just don’t like everyone being like this! I want us to be like before…” he scratched at the scab subconsciously, biting his lip._ _

__Rick shook his head, gently tapping Morty’s arm to get him to stop scratching. “Morty, it will be like that sooner or later… y-you just gotta give it time.” he said, sitting on the edge of his bed. “I-I know I haven’t been a very good grandpa, Morty… I-I just never knew how to handle all…” he motioned to Morty, “This. Not that it’s bad! I just don’t know how to be very _emotional_ , Morty. You know this… A-And I know I’m probably half of this problem here, but-“_ _

__“W-Wait, Rick. Stop.” Morty interrupted, sitting up. The younger boy sighed, “Rick, I-I know that you aren’t perfect and stuff, I just… It’s not you that made me do all this. Yeah, I didn’t like you insulting me all the time and all that, but…” he trailed off, trying to think. “It was my fault, okay? I can’t blame anyone else…”_ _

__Rick watched his grandson, shaking his head a bit. “Morty, look. It’s not _all_ your fault, alright? You wanted a way to cope, and you chose this,” he paused, “it’s like my drinking, Morty. We all have something we do that helps us in an unhealthy way! So don’t-don’t blame yourself, kid. I should’ve noticed you weren’t doing well, but I thought you just needed distance…” he sighed, feeling the urge to just leave Morty alone and go to a distant planet to forget all this shit._ _

__Morty played with his blanket for a moment, then leaned forward and hugged Rick tightly. “I think… I want to start going on adventures again… I miss them.” he said. Rick was shocked – not only at the physical touch, but at the words. Despite this, Rick smiled and patted his shoulder.  
“Sure, Morty. I-I’ll see what I can throw together.”_ _

__**~*~*~*~*~*~** _ _

__Rick made sure to pay more attention to Morty’s mental and emotional levels. He noticed the way he’d brighten at Rick’s praises, the way his hands would twist around each other, trying to claw off the imperfections when he was overwhelmed. He noticed when he wore longer sleeves than usual, or when there was a bandage peeking from underneath the yellow shirt. He’d never press for an answer, but he’d always ask if he wanted to talk about it._ _

__Sometimes, he didn’t want to. Rick was fine with that. They’d go out after an adventure and do anything the kid wanted to do. Even if it was just sitting in the ship and crying for hours. Rick didn’t mind it. He’d been working on his own temper problems, making sure to keep the snapping at Morty to a minimum._ _

__There were days that Morty did want to talk about it – those were the really bad days. He’d go on and on about the constant battle in his mind about everything, trying to explain to Rick what his thoughts were. Rick couldn’t always understand, but he appreciated the effort and tried his best to help him out or to comfort him._ _

__After a while, Morty started to come to him _before_ he’d hurt himself, and Rick would talk him down. Rick normally could, but the first couple of times he tried weren’t exactly successes. _ _

__He had to learn Morty – learn what he needed. Rick found that when he was panicking and trying not to harm himself, physical touch was _not_ an option. The first time he had tried to pat Morty’s back, the kid flinched away with such a pained sound, Rick thought he may have slapped Morty instead. He found that Morty needed words at times like that – words and encouragements, telling him he’d be okay._ _

__The nightmares were bad, too. Sometimes Rick would wake in the middle of the night to the sight of Morty trying to wake him up in tears, yanking at his own hair. Rick swore to every dimensional God he could recall that he would destroy whoever hurt Morty._ _

__The problem was that Morty wouldn’t tell him _who_ had done this, and Rick would never bring it up – he wouldn’t dare. It would bring up too many of the memories that Morty was trying so hard to get out of his mind._ _

__One night, though, Morty told him everything. He told him who did it. He told him he had tried so hard to fight back, but he was too weak._ _

__That’s all Rick needed. He went back to the dimension, and did exactly what he had planned to do the day it had happened._ _

__He shot the piece of shit that fucked up his grandson. He told Morty what he had done. For the first time in a long time, Morty smiled a real, genuine smile. It lit up his features, made him almost look like the embodiment of the sun in one person._ _

__Rick stopped drinking as much. He didn’t need it like he used to._ _

__He was finally starting to follow Morty and realize you don’t always need something toxic to be happy._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a ride. I'm sorry I took forever!  
> Well, I've finally reached the end of this fic. I'm kinda sad! I really did enjoy writing this - but I don't think I'm done writing Rick and Morty! I just have other fic ideas for other fandoms c:  
> I hope this ending is okay! I really thought hard about it, and a lot of planning went into it! Thank you to everyone who commented, who left kudos - everything! All of you are amazing, and I wasn't even going to continue with this until people actually started enjoying it!  
> Thank you again!


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